Searching for the Sky
by Crimson Beryl
Summary: In a maze without an end, what else can you do but continue walking? But if the journey made is with you by my side, then I wouldn't mind walking for eternity. "Don't touch my brother, asshole." [SI/OC as Luffy's younger twin sister]
1. Chapter 1

**Title :** Searching for the Sky

 **Summary :** In a maze without an end, what else can you do but continue walking? But if the journey made is with you by my side, then I wouldn't mind walking for eternity. "Don't touch my brother, asshole." [SI/OC as Luffy's younger twin sister]

 **Disclaimer :** I do not own One Piece.

* * *

Dying was a strange thing.

There was no 'see your life flash before your eyes' moment the movies were so fond of depicting, nor was there any 'light at the end of the tunnel'. Time _did_ seem to slow down though, as if life itself was trying to delay the inevitable.

The world didn't stop revolving. Time went on as usual, without a hitch. You didn't burst into a million fragments as your soul disintegrated and joined the celestial heavens above as stars.

There weren't any field of flowers or heavenly choirs or large, pearly white gates slowly swinging open as you neared them.

There wasn't a little red man with pointy horns and a pitchfork welcoming you into the fiery depths of the underworld either. There was no river to cross, no price to pay.

But there was time. The one single moment that stretched so long it seemed closer to eternity.

You think to yourself, ' _Oh, I'm dying_ ', and then there was pain. Not physical, the kind that was bound to the world through your body, but the insubstantial kind. The kind that seeped through your bones to grind at your very soul.

It was the absolute, crushing sadness that came when the realisation set in that you were going to lose everything. Your family, your friends, your past, present, future… What had been and what could be. Your dreams and regrets.

You feel all those in that eternity of a second.

And then there was nothing.

And then you were _gone_.

* * *

" _No_ , Luffy." I sighed, gently taking the wooden block from his hands and placing it to the side. "You can't eat those."

The toddler let out a pitiful whine at having his toy (and potential meal) taken away from him and turned to me, lips trembling and eyes shining with unshed tears.

"B-But..." He said earnestly. "Hungwy."

"Okay." I said agreeably. I could tell by the way he had been gnawing at my hair for the past few minutes that he was indeed hungry. A quick glance at the clock hanging by the wall told me it was nowhere near our mealtime yet, but something as insignificant as _time_ never stood a chance against Luffy's stomach.

I pulled myself up from the floor slowly, carefully balancing myself on my pudgy hands. My motor coordination had much to be desired since I was essentially forced upon a baby's body, but at the very least I took pride in the fact that I seldom fall over when walking.

I held out a hand to my brother, and Luffy's eyes lit up at the gesture, immediately understanding my intentions. He grabbed my hand and tugged himself to his feet, grinning proudly when he managed to stand up without stumbling.

He curled our fingers together, and I gave my best effort to move to the kitchen with him clinging to me like a koala... Or maybe 'monkey' would be more accurate. He does have 'Monkey' in his name after all.

...

Dying was a strange thing indeed,

But so was reincarnation.

I don't remember what caused the death (and I don't really want to, to be honest), and neither do I remember being born.

The _feeling_ of dying, however, the emotions in that _very last moment_... were something I would _never_ forget, and something that I never wanted to experience again.

Which was a pipe dream, unfortunately. I would go through it again, at the end of this life. The feeling of losing everything, and having to repeat the process again in another life, over and over.

But that was too depressing a thought to be thinking of right now, at the tender age of 2. I still had my whole life in front of me, provided I didn't do something stupid and get myself killed (again). Right now my only priority was getting Luffy something to fill his stomach with, before he decides that my clothes suddenly look appetising...

"Walk properly, Luffy." I admonished lightly, turning to him with a frown. "I can't move like this."

Luffy grinned mischievously as he pressed his weight further against me. I flailed wildly for lost balance, realising what this _brat_ was trying to do, but eventually fell to the ground with an 'oof'. Luffy fell on top of me, landing with his elbow in my gut, and I let out a low whine of pain.

"Oof!" He mimicked, bursting into giggles at the exasperated look I sent him.

This was Luffy, full name Monkey D. Luffy, also known as my elder twin brother. Also known as the protagonist of the (supposedly) fictional manga One Piece, who aspired to become the Pirate King and would no doubt end up with that dream fulfilled by the end of the series.

...Also soon to be known as my cause of death if he didn't get off my chest _right now_ because _I could not breathe_ -

I wheezed in relief when the weight on my chest was finally lifted as he did an impressive render of a barrel roll (for a 2 year old anyway) and flopped beside me.

"Oof!" He said again, and turned to me, eyes shining expectantly.

"Yes, Luffy." I smiled. "Oof is the sound you make when you're in pain." (somewhat)

Worry immediately flooded his features. "Pain? Mana, pain?"

I shook my head, still smiling. "I'm fine now. No pain."

He squinted at me. "Weally?"

"Yes, really."

That seemed to satisfy any worry he had about me, as he promptly launched himself to tackle me to the ground just as I started to pick myself up. "Oof," I said again, and Luffy burst into another fit of giggles.

He locked his arms and legs around me and nuzzled my shoulder, still giggling childishly. He was getting sleepy, I could tell, by the way his wide eyes were drooping and he was wiggling around trying to make himself more comfortable with me as his personal cuddle pillow.

Luffy had always been very touchy-feely when showing affection, and I found that out when I ended up with him literally clinging onto me for everything we did. In fact, I could tell people we were conjoined twins and they would probably believe me.

(Well, actually no. They would most likely freak out first. I don't act enough like how a 2 year old is supposed to.)

"Mana..." The little bundle of sunshine by my side mumbled drowsily.

"Hm?"

"Hungwy..."

I smiled, and ran my tiny little fingers through his hair. "Maybe later. Sleep first."

Luffy nodded his agreement, but was already sleeping contentedly in a split second. I felt my own eyelids droop at the comfortable warmth he was radiating, and snuggled closer to nestle against him. Luffy would be fully charged with energy after his little nap and no doubt be screaming for food the moment he wakes up, so I might as well take the opportunity to rest up myself.

Babies were surprisingly high maintenance. Or low maintenance, depending on how you looked at it.

...Reincarnation was strange. Being reincarnated with memories of a past life even stranger, and being reincarnated as the twin sister of a (supposedly) fictional character, well...

My name is Monkey D. Mana, younger twin sister to Monkey D. Luffy, two years old and already hopelessly attached to my brother. Dreams for the future include helping Luffy achieve his dream among other things, and living the second life I've been given to the fullest.

Which at least included _not_ dying until my precious brother became Pirate King, or whatever he wanted to be.

This is my story, at the end of one life,

And the beginning of a brand new _adventure_.

* * *

 **AN :** Hm... Well then. The idea has been buzzing around my head for awhile so... why not? A bit short, but it's just the first chapter.

Reviews and constructive criticisms are always appreciated! Do notify me if you guys spot any mistakes I might have missed.

See you in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title :** Searching for the Sky

 **Summary :** In a maze without an end, what else can you do but continue walking? But if the journey made is with you by my side, then I wouldn't mind walking for eternity. "Don't touch my brother, asshole." [SI/OC as Luffy's younger twin sister]

 **AN :** A large 'thank you' to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Your words truly made my day!

* * *

 **2** **Years 8 Months**

Time passed fairly quickly when you were a baby. We lived with an elderly woman named Erina whom we called 'baa-chan', who acted as our caretaker. She kept us fed and bathed us regularly (our meals being more frequent than baths) but I was pretty confident that despite what we called her she was not our real grandmother. Call me unkind, but while she did take good care of us, she never did exhibit any 'grandmotherly aura' around us, and in fact it seemed as if she saw us as a 'job' more than anything else.

Not to mention she could be grumpy sometimes.

We spent our days practically the same way every day, since at this age there really wasn't much we could do; but I was never bored (having boredom as a state of mind was something that would _never_ happen with Luffy as a brother), and I was very -in Baa-chan's words- 'my paced' with my life. I would be lying if I said that we were being 'productive' though, but we were happy and carefree, and that was more than I could ever ask for, both for me and for Luffy. Speaking of which, Luffy usually only spent his days contentedly eating, napping, or dragging me around to explore our surroundings while blabbering in broken sentences of English.

Language was slightly different here compared to how it was in my world. From what I gathered all the people spoke Japanese, but at the same time I was pretty sure that English also existed in this world too. I say this because occasionally Luffy demands ' _food!_ ' in English and Baa-chan will immediately whip up something for us to eat.

Japanese was something easy to absorb as a toddler, since Baa-chan treated us smart enough to speak in full sentences all the time. I didn't talk to her much though (partly because I was afraid I would embarrass myself), but Luffy was a very vocal child, so I guess we balanced each other out?

Learning how to read and write however proved to be more of a challenge, since I was essentially learning from scratch. But technically all children had to go through this stage, so I wouldn't complain. I liked learning new stuff anyway.

I would sit down at one spot for hours pouring over hiragana and katakana charts while Luffy ran about the house wreaking havoc and shaving years off Baa-chan's lifespan. Luffy would only sit still when he had food on his lap, and when that was finished he proved that he could find distractions _anywhere_.

On the other hand I spoke plenty of English to Luffy, albeit in short, simple sentences, which he picked up fairly quickly too. It was expected, since we were always together, but still made me quite pleased in the end. Him learning English didn't seem to hinder his progress in Japanese either, so that was one worry off my shoulders. Learning more languages was never a bad thing.

I went about my days also eating, being dragged around, lying around doing nothing (like what I was doing now), or just sleeping. Mostly sleeping. In fact, while Luffy split his time awake equally between eating and running about, I spent more than half of those napping away. I always had the impression that toddlers needed more rest than children do, but even then I slept almost twice the amount of time Luffy did.

Then I realised that this was _Luffy_ and simply chalked it up to him having way more energy than he could contain. Poor kid.

"Mana!" Luffy called suddenly. I turned from where I was spread eagle on the backyard to lay on my side, facing him. The boy pointed a finger and waved it wildly when he got my attention, body practically vibrating in excitement. "Wha's dat?"

I made a sleepy grunt and looked over to the general vicinity of where he was pointing to. Waving his hand around like that did nothing to help me pinpoint what he wanted me to see.

"What's what?"

Luffy blinked at me and turned back to the direction he was facing. A confused frown furrowed at his eyebrows and he clambered to his feet, peeking around the bushes for whatever he was trying to find.

I squinted at him for a moment longer before promptly flopping back to my original position. I stared straight up at the blue sky, trying to make up shapes from the fluffy white clouds. No luck so far, and the little kitty I thought I saw earlier didn't really look like a cat anymore...

"There!" Luffy exclaimed, "Mana! Wha's dat?"

This time I only turned my neck to look at him, and even that took way too much effort. I was getting really sleepy...

"Oh," I said when I finally saw what he was pointing to. "That's a dragonfly."

Luffy looked awed, slowly inching closer to the insect. "A dra... dra...?"

"Dragonfly."

"Dra-gon-fwi."

"Fly."

"Fwi."

"F-ly." I corrected patiently.

"Fu... fuh..." Luffy's face scrunched up in concentration. "Fly! Dra-gon-fly!"

I laughed at his enthusiasm. Little achievements like these never failed to make him happy.

Luffy turned back to me with a proud look on his face, and I smiled back fondly, pride welling up in my own chest. "That's right! Great job!"

The boy grinned and rocked back and forth on his heels happily before he lost his balance. He collapsed on the floor with a happy "oof!" and burst into giggles.

I left him to his antics and closed my eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. The climate on Foosha village was mostly fair all year long, and with today's beautiful weather (cloudy. Not too hot, not too cold), it was _perfect_ for a little daytime nap. But just as I was on the brink of sleep, the sound of pattering footsteps caught my attention again.

"Mana! Dragonfly!"

Something tugged on my arm, trying to pull me to my feet, and I made an unintelligent noise to act as my voice of protest. Luffy had limitless energy, but that didn't extend to me. At all. He could chase after dragonflies for the rest of his life for all I cared, but right now all I wanted to do was _sleep_.

"Manaaa!" He whined again, abandoning my hand and instead opting to pull my foot. I wondered how long I could get away with pretending to be asleep with him dragging me across the yard. Speaking of which, I was actually moving.

I cracked open an eye to see his back to me. He had his arms over his shoulder, hauling me like he was trying to a pull a sled.

"Dra. Gon. Fly!" He chanted, grunting in effort at every step he took. "Dra... Gon... Fly!"

How adorable.

I let out a jaw aching yawn as I was slowly but surely dragged across the yard. I _could_ give in and chase dragonflies along with him, or I could stay motionless and hope this little exercise burns out some of his excess energy...

 _Or,_ I thought, a mischievous grin creeping up my face _, I could just do this._

I sat up, grabbing tightly the arm which was pulling my leg, and _pulled_ straight back. Luffy stumbled backwards with a startled yelp and ended up half collapsing on me. It caused a slight discomfort on my part, but it was completely worth watching his reaction for it.

I locked my arms around him as he wiggled around, trying to get free. Luffy shrieked in delight as we started a wrestling match, tousling across the grass in a flurry of dirt and limbs. I grinned widely despite my best efforts not to, and got awarded by literally having mud shoved in my face as we rolled on the ground.

Luffy's hand reached my hair and pulled, and I retaliated by clamping my teeth down on his arm. We continued to grapple for a few minutes, and it wasn't until his hand landed smack dab on my face did I actually stop gnawing on his arm.

"何をしているのですか二人とも?!"

Luffy and I froze at the sudden voice. Ho boy. Luffy still had his hand at my head, fingers tangled around my hair (no, it was not the other way around), and I had the base of my foot placed conveniently under his chin with my other knee half buried in his gut.

"遊んでいます" I replied, struggling to keep my voice steady even as I was panicking internally. Immediately after the words left my mouth I wanted to cringe. _Playing._ I told her we were _playing_. Granted, I wasn't exactly lying but Baa-chan had already established before that our definitions of 'playing' differed immensely.

"こんな乱暴な遊び方をやめてくださいってなんどもいってたんでしょ?!" Baa-chan fumed from the doorway. She marched up towards us with an energy that belied her age, and we hurriedly scrambled to try and untangle our limbs before she reached us.

"Ow! Don't pull!" I complained to Luffy when he tugged too hard on my hair.

"Stuck!" He cried in response, turning to me with a look of absolute horror etched on his face.

Baa-chan knelt down in front of us and let out a huff, shaking her head in exasperation.

"ほら、見せて"

I tilted my head towards her obediently and we waited patiently as she undid the knots with steady fingers. Once that was done she smoothed out my hair with surprisingly gentle fingers, and the urge to sleep suddenly came back in full force. Luffy threw his hands up with a jubilant "Free!", and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"まったくもう!" Baa-chan fussed, patting me down and sending little clouds of dust flying around. "こんなに汚くなって-! 早く中にお風呂を入ってきなさい!"

"Hai, Baa-chan." I said meekly, getting to my feet and preparing to totter after her. Better not to say anything unnecessary; Baa-chan could be frightening sometimes.

She nodded gravely at me and turned to pin Luffy with a _look._ _"_ あんたも、はやくお風呂を"

Luffy shivered, sucking in his lips and inching closer towards me. "H-Hai."

* * *

 **3 Years 11 Months**

"JUST WHAT THE _HELL_ DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Oh. _Wow_. What a wonderful way to wake up. I blearily blinked open my eyes and yawned widely. I tried to rub the crust from my eyes, but found that my arms would not move. A quick glance to my side confirmed my thoughts. Luffy was curled up beside me, still sleeping, and clinging onto me like the little monkey he was.

( _There was someone else in the house._ )

I paused, tilting my head slightly and wondering if I felt wrong but... no. There was definitely someone present other than Baa-chan.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I carefully peeled Luffy's limbs away from mine. I sneakily (heh, sneakily) grabbed one of the many pillows surrounding us and stuffed it where I slept, to act as my replacement. Luffy shifted slightly and grumbled under his breath, but otherwise went back to sleeping contentedly.

I rolled away from him and got to my feet, adjusting the pillows around him like some sort of protective barrier. We slept on the ground on pillows instead of the bed placed near the window (we grew out of cots last year). Baa-chan didn't want to take the risk of us falling out of the bed given how hazard prone we were, and instead just settled with covering the entire floor with fluffy pillows so that we could roll around the entire length of the room comfortably.

Luffy's favourite pillow was the meat shaped one, which he loved to chew on, and mine was the cute stuffed penguin almost twice my size, which I fell in love with at first sight. But I digress.

I made a beeline towards the front door, where I could tell Baa-chan was, and the more I neared her the more confident I was in my previous thought that there was indeed someone present too.

"-why did you have to break the _wall_?!" Baa-chan shrieked again. I winced at the volume, definitely not a pleasant way to wake up. It was too early for such loud noises.

My eyes roamed back to the bedroom, wondering if Luffy would start crying after being disturbed. But the hallway remained silent, and I continued my way towards the living room, lightly tracing my fingers along the little groves on the walls as I walked.

"Bwahahaha! My bad, my bad! Force of habit!"

I froze at the voice. A distinctively _masculine_ voice which was decidedly _not_ Baa-chan's. Judging by his speech pattern I would have guessed that he was an older man. He spoke similarly to how some uncles (like the mayor) would speak when they visited Luffy and me to coo at how cute we were, but I was fairly confident I didn't know this person.

I stopped at the end of the hallway, not quite daring to peek over the door frame to peer inside. Baa-chan yelled something incoherent at the stranger, and my heart rate picked up as I started to get worried.

 _What if it was a home intruder?_ Baa-chan had said that the village was safe, but nothing was perfect and there was always a chance something could go wrong. What better targets to choose than the house of a defenceless elderly woman and her two tiny little wards?

I forced myself to stop. Thoughts like those would only spiral down an endless loop of negativity, courtesy of my overactive imagination. Plus, while Baa-chan was undeniably agitated, I did not sense any fear from her.

Not a home invasion then, right? You would have to be pretty scared if you came face to face with someone who broke into your house. In fact, I think Baa-chan was actually feeling annoyed more than anything else.

 _It's safe. The village is safe, Baa-chan said so._ Happy thoughts! An old flame? A wandering traveller? An overly persistent salesman who would not take a hint and leave?

The last one stole a soft giggle from my lips for some bizarre reason, and I finally mustered up the courage to peek past the frame.

I blinked as I took the scene before me. Baa-chan had her back to me with her hands waving wildly in the air, and from this distance I could practically _feel_ her agitation rolling off her in waves. The stranger whom I suspected the voice belonged to stood a few feet away from her, standing in front of a large hole in the wall.

That... was not right.

The man was very well built, with broad shoulders and a wide torso. He looked pretty tall too, and I had the feeling that if I went over to stand beside him I would not even reach his knees in height. He had a short beard and short cropped hair, and I thought I could spy some grey hairs on the bottom of his head.

I glanced at the closed front door and traced it back to the wall, frowning in confusion. Where did that huge hole come from? Now that I looked at it, it was actually shaped quite suspiciously. In fact, it seemed to be the perfect size for the man standing in front of it to fit through...

The man who was staring _straight at me-_

...

His eyes went wide upon seeing me and the grin on his face grew even larger. "Mana!" He exclaimed loudly. "You're Mana, aren't you?! Ooh, you've grown so much since I last saw you!"

Sirens wailed in my mind. _Home invader! Home invader!_

I shrunk back at his sudden announcement, gripping tightly onto the door frame. Baa-chan stopped ranting to turn to my direction. Her face softened when she caught sight of me half hiding behind the wall, and she gestured for me to come closer.

I hesitated, eyes darting between Baa-chan and the stranger (who was still grinning at me), and slowly inched my way towards her.

Baa-chan smoothed out my hair when I stopped beside her, and I felt myself feeling slightly better at the comfort the action offered. "I'm sorry, Mana." She said, "Did I wake you up?"

I shook my head no even though she actually did, and turned back to the stranger.

Baa-chan's eyes also flickered towards him and she put her hands on my shoulders. "You might not remember," She started in a kind voice. "but this is your grandfather. He was the one who asked me to take care of you and your brother."

I blinked slowly and digested the information, my attention lingering on the large scar curved over his left eye. He _did_ seem vaguely familiar, and the overall feeling I got from him now was akin to how Luffy was like when he was excited.

"Go greet your grandfather." Baa-chan suggested, a gentle hand on my back pushing me towards him in encouragement.

The man –my grandfather- had crouched down so that I did not have to break my neck looking up at him, though he was still two times taller than me. His eyes shined expectantly when I neared him, and I was struck by how similar he looked like my brother at that moment.

 _Oh. Okay. Definitely see the family resemblance there._

"...Jii-chan." I tested, bowing slightly because... it was polite right? I should be polite when meeting a family member for the first time. First impressions count after all. "Pleased to meet you-!"

I yelped in panic as I suddenly felt myself being picked up. Grandfather let out a boisterous laugh, and my eyes span dizzily as he swung me in a circle.

"That's my girl!" He said proudly, hands outstretched to hold me at eye level in front of him and grinning widely. "Bwahaha, that's right! I'm your grandpa, Mana!"

Grandfather nuzzled my cheek on his beard and a giggle burst from my lips at the sensation. He laughed again, and as if his mood was infectious, I felt myself laughing along him too, my previous discomfort and unease receding like a wave from the sand.

And it warmed my heart, honestly, at how proud I made him feel simply by calling him 'grandpa'. This stranger to me who's face lit up in a grin at seeing me. A grandfather meeting his granddaughter for the first time in three years.

Grandpa placed me back on the ground and gave my hair a rough ruffle, still laughing happily. I ducked my head at the force and resisted the urge to pout. Another family resemblance. Luffy also loved to mess up my hair.

Baa-chan chuckled softly at our exchange. "Mana, why don't you go wake Luffy up? I'm sure your grandfather wants to meet him too. I'll whip up some breakfast for you to eat in the meantime."

"Ah, I'll go along with you then, Mana."

"Okay." I said, and took the hand Grandfather offered to start and lead him towards the room.

Baa-chan gave me an encouraging smile as I passed her, but as soon as Grandfather neared her she sent him the most withering glare I had ever seen in my life.

"You better fix that wall before you leave, Garp." She said warningly. "Or _else_."

I felt the air shiver slightly at her words, but Grandfather only laughed it off, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Erina-chan! It'll be good as new!"

The woman huffed and nodded curtly, and I took that as a cue to tug on Grandpa's hand once again.

"Tomorrow," He spoke up when we were halfway there. "is the 5th of May, right?"

I paused, confused at the sudden question, and turned over my shoulder to look at the large calendar hanging on the wall.

"...I think so?" I replied hesitantly, not exactly daring to confirm his question. I only had a vague idea of the day and date since at my age I had better things to do than keep track of dates all the time. Things like sleeping. Or eating... Or both. Mm.

The answer seemed to satisfy him though, as he merely grinned and kept silent for the rest of the way.

 _He looks like he's plotting world domination,_ I thought uneasily. Maybe leading him to Luffy was not such a great idea after all... Too late to do anything now.

"I'll go wake him up." I mumbled after letting go of Grandfather's hand. He nodded and stayed by the doorway of the room, looking very much like an impenetrable sentry standing guard. I sneaked another glance back at him-

-and promptly tripped over a pillow and landed flat on my face.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, as I had landed on another pillow. Luffy however, didn't get off so easily. My hand had smacked on his face during my fall, and his immediate response was to chomp down on my fingers and start crying.

Ho boy.

I tugged my hand free and patted his head, mumbling hurried apologies to try and calm him down. The sound of Grandpa chuckling rang behind us, and I felt my face flush in embarrassment. He had seen everything.

 _Great direction this 'first impression' thing is going huh?_

Luffy quietened enough to crack open his eyes. Upon seeing me, he gave a sleepy whine and hooked his ankle around my knee. I stumbled and fell in a heap beside him, and Luffy took the opportunity to snuggle against me, falling back asleep.

I squinted at him. Big baby.

" _Luffy, wake up_." I urged gently in English (more out of habit than anything else), knowing I could just shake him awake by force but not willing to. " _Grandfather is here._ "

"Mn..."

" _...Baa-chan is making breakfast now._ "

And his eyes immediately snapped open. I set him a dry look. I really needed to find different ways to wake him up other than the promise of food.

" _Grandfather is here._ " I repeated, pinching his cheeks when his eyes fell half mast again.

Luffy swatted my hand away. " _Who_?"

"Jii-chan."

...

"Who?"

"Me." Grandfather thundered from behind us. Luffy and I jerked at the unexpected sound and turned back to look at him.

 _Evil face, right there. Full marks. 10 out of 10._

He had his arms folded across his chest, towering over us. The huge shadow he cast over us only made his (menacing) grin look even more terrifying. I could almost imagine lightning flashing behind him and illuminating the silhouette of a large castle.

...

"Who are you?" Luffy asked bluntly.

A vein bulged on Grandfather's forehead. "I'm your grandpa!"

Luffy scrunched up his face and turned to me. I shrugged.

"He's our grandpa."

Luffy paused for a moment before standing up and walking towards him. I watched as Grandfather crouched down with an amused smile and Luffy lifted his chin up at him bravely.

"I'm Luffy!"

Grandfather's eye twitched. "I know that."

"And that's Mana."

"I know that too!" Grandfather yelled. "Of course I know my grandchildren's names!"

Luffy immediately looked disinterested. "Oh." His stomach growled suddenly, the noise sounding louder than it was in the otherwise silent room, and he held out a hand to me. " _Mana, let's go eat_."

I felt a smile tug at my lips from the humorous exchange. Leave it to Luffy to make a first impression like that. They would get along just _swimmingly_ , I could already tell.

"You really are something else." Grandfather huffed, shaking his head, though I could detect a hint of fondness laced in his tone. "As expected from my grandson! You take after me!"

Luffy wrinkled his nose at the declaration. He scratched the back of his head, peering up at the large man. "Really?"

"That's right!" Grandfather laughed loudly. He turned to me, an eyebrow raised appraisingly. "And you're more of the quiet type, huh? I know who you take after."

I tilted my head up at him to show my confusion, but otherwise kept silent.

"Now!" Grandfather said instead, a wide grin spreading on his face. "Let's go see what Erina-chan has whipped up for us eh?"

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Food!" He said exuberantly, and eagerly tottered behind the older man, pulling my hand to drag me along with him.

As if on cue, my stomach gave a long growl. The smell of freshly made pancakes wafted from the kitchen, and I felt my mouth begin to water. Ah, well. I guess I could do with breakfast right about now.

"Ah, wait!" I said, suddenly remembering something. "Brush your teeth first! Luffy!"

* * *

 **OMAKE**

"Huh? Baa-chan, where did that huge hole come from?"

"Bwahaha! I made it, of course!"

"EHHHHH?! REALLY?!"

"DON'T SOUND SO PROUD OF IT, GARP! You better fix-"

"Mana, could you pass the syrup?- Thank you."

"Baa-chan, I want seconds!"

"Me too!"

"Oh, me too Erina-chan!"

"LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING!"

* * *

 **AN :** Mostly filler, but Garp makes his debut, so I guess that's something. He seems rather... normal in this chapter, doesn't he? I wonder how long that will last...

Also, since we've touched upon the subject of _Language_ here, I might as well do some explaining. I'll try to keep it simple, so bear with me for a bit.

1) Everyone speaks Japanese as a default language.

2) Foreign languages (like English, Spanish, French) exist, and some people understand and can even speak some of the language, but no one actually _converses_ in it. For example Sanji's techniques are in French and English and Robin's are a mixture of all three. They _know_ what the words mean, but they don't _speak_ the language. (Knowing a few words of a language has a huge difference from actually being able to understand or speak the language.)

3) That being said, Mana actually _knows_ how to read and speak in English, so while she is still in the process of learning the World language (Japanese), she has no problem conversing in English to Luffy. Since they're constantly together, Luffy picks up English from Mana, and we now have something called ' _ **cryptophasia**_ ', only their supposedly 'twin language' is simply an already existing language which people don't use. Yay for bilingualism!

4) The writing system is once again, by default, the Japanese writing system (hiragana/katakana/kanji). The English alphabet _does_ exist but is only used for proper nouns (names/places). For example, Monkey D. Luffy(wanted poster) / Baratie(signboard) / Loguetown(island) / Marine(title/uniform). The last writing system is the one on the Ponegylphs, which currently only Nico Robin has the ability to read.

Baa-chan's dialogue in the beginning is written in Japanese to emphasise the different languages the twins and her speak. Mana speaks to Luffy in English by default and vice versa, but with others they speak Japanese. Since it's only to prove a point, only that part is in Japanese. In the rest of the chapter all of them speak Japanese even though it is written in English (with some exceptions. Based on the context _italics_ could mean English speech too). This is so I do not have to write the entire story in Japanese, because my proficiency in the language is nowhere capable of such a feat, and it will only cause unnecessary confusion for you beloved readers. I get nightmares just thinking about it.

Here are the translations:

 **Baa-** **chan:** What are the both of you doing?!

 **Mana:** We're playing.

 **Baa-** **chan:** How many times have I told you two not to play so roughly?!

 **Baa-** **chan:** Come here, let me see.

 **Baa-** **chan:** Look at you, you're filthy! Hurry inside and get in the bath.

 **Baa-** **chan:** You too, Luffy. Hurry up and get in the bath.

Phew, that was a lot to take in! I hope I've cleared up some confusion about the chapter, but if you still have any questions feel free to drop me a note and I'll try to explain it in more detail.

Also, in response to a question about pairings by **Seion** : Romance is definitely not going to be a main focus in the story, but there might be some 'hints' here and there, since Mana is going to be in _that_ age in the main storyline... We'll just have to wait and see then.

See you in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title :** Searching for the Sky

 **Summary :** In a maze without an end, what else can you do but continue walking? But if the journey made is with you by my side, then I wouldn't mind walking for eternity. "Don't touch my brother, asshole." [SI/OC as Luffy's younger twin sister]

* * *

.

 _(There was nothing left nothing left everything was gone and-)_

Darkness was everywhere. Surrounding me, enveloping me like a protective blanket. Blinking did no good, and darting my eyes (did I have eyes?) left and right trying to find something to focus on turned up fruitless too. The confusion of 'why couldn't I see' answered with the realisation that 'there was nothing to see'.

 _(-disappeared ceased to exist wiped out-)_

It was silent. Nothing moved in the Void around me. It was the kind of silence (how could you hear _silence_?) that was so deafening it drove you _insane_ and made you want to do something -anything- to break it-

 _(-tried to breathe could not breathe because I was-)_

Break the silence break the silence. Tried to scream but could not scream and my-

( _heart?_ )

-ached and bled in pain and sorrow because _everything was gone_ and all I wanted to do was to scream and cry but-

( _I had no voice)_

-so only the darkness echoed around me in the silence and I tried to call for help just somebody anybody _please-_

 _(-nobody helped nobody would help_ why aren't they helping me?! _-)_

-but nobody came and I was alone alone all alone because I was-

 _(-I was-)_

 _already_

 _..._

 _.._

 _._

* * *

"-said... WAKE UP!"

 _ **THWACK!**_

"ACK-!"

I shot up, clutching at my throat and furiously hacking up feathers. My heart ( _thump-thump-thump_ ) hammered wildly in my ribcage and I stared incredulously with wide eyes as I catalogued my heavy breathing.

 _Oh my god. Oh my god I almost-_

(died)

 _-suffocated. I almost suffocated what the_ hell _was that._

"Hey! What are you doing, Jii-chan?!"

 _Luffy-!_ I looked around frantically, heart still racing, trying to find my brother. My thoughts went haywire and delirious as I struggled to orientate myself again. My brain was intaking information too quick for it to properly register, resulting in a sluggish and muddled reaction. I felt like I was grasping at straws. It was like sinking in quicksand; you tried desperately to get out, grabbing and reaching for anything in sight, but the more you struggled the faster you sank.

A quick sweep to the right found him beside me a few pillows away, and I hurriedly did a quick scan from top to bottom. There was an annoyed frown painted on his face and he had bed hair sticking out in every direction, but otherwise he didn't appear to be harmed. A knot loosened in my chest. The relief I felt was so intense that for a moment I thought that I was going to faint. In fact, I think if the vertigo had gotten any worse I would have thrown up there and then.

"I told you two to get up, didn't I?" Grandfather thundered, ignorant of the fact that I had just narrowly missed a mini heart attack. "Go wash up! We're starting your training today!"

...What. What?

Now that the initial panic had worn off, I found annoyance bubbling in its stead. I stared drolly at Grandfather's figure standing in the middle of the room. He was armed with fluffy pillows in both hands, but he was still able to look very much intimidating.

I shook my head to clear the thoughts and glared at the pillow which had dropped innocently on my lap after _almost suffocating me_ and felt a sort of vindictive animosity towards the thing. Then I saw the feathers sticking out from the corners of the pillow and how it seem to sag pathetically on my lap and felt slightly better about it.

 _You taste horrible_ , I thought at it, staring. It remained motionless. I sniffed at it in disdain and threw it off my lap, reaching for my penguin and squeezing it instead.

"Mana," Grandfather said warningly, just as I began to nod off again. Waking up feeling absolutely terrified was _not_ good for my psych. Not even five minutes after waking up and I was already mentally drained. (-There was a tiny little voice in my head which protested against the idea, and I faintly wondered where all the _fear_ came from-). "Didn't you hear what I just said? Or would you like a taste of my Fist of Love?"

 _What does that even mean?_ I frowned in annoyance, shaking away the confusing thoughts in my head. I opened my eyes enough to squint at him and yawned widely.

" _Come on, Mana."_ Luffy tugged at my arm. " _Wake up already. I smell breakfast!"_

" _I'm up."_ I said, and flopped uselessly against my brother's side when he pulled me up.

"Mana."

"Alright, alright."

* * *

"Where are we going, Grandpa?" Luffy asked innocently, looking around in wonder and awe at our surroundings. I couldn't blame him; it was our first time away from the village after all. The most we had ever seen of the outside world was mostly the marketplace where Baa-chan took us to when she went grocery shopping.

Something cawed shrilly high above us and I looked up, instinctively inching closer to Grandfather when I saw a vulture flying in circles above us. Either the vulture was flying really low, or it was gigantic in size. I wasn't quite sure which one I preferred.

"Training." Was Grandfather's single worded response.

 _But this path leads to Mt. Colubo!_ I wanted to yell. _No one goes to Mt. Colubo!_

Mt. Colubo was part of the heavily forested mountain range situated behind Foosha village. And people just didn't. Go. There.

There were so many stories about the mountain. Ones about villagers venturing inside who were never to be seen again, ones about passersby hearing, and I quote, 'roars and screams of otherworldly beasts' late at night, when the sun goes down and the big scary monsters come out to play.

I knew better than to take the stories word by word, because since they were mostly used as a means to scare children away from the forest, it meant that they were most likely to be blown out of proportion. But exaggerated as they were, they always had the same core. 'Stay away from the mountain.'

They had to come from _somewhere_ , and the fact that the villagers felt the need to invent _so many..._

"Scared?" Grandfather chuckled when I shivered involuntarily. I peered up at him but kept my face neutral, not willing to show weakness even if it was to my grandfather. _Especially_ since it was my grandfather.

"Baa-chan always tells us not to enter the mountain." I said instead.

Grandfather barked a laugh. "Don't worry. It's for you to get stronger."

Somehow, that didn't make me feel better. At all.

"Yeah, don't worry Mana!" Luffy cheered excitedly. "It's gonna be an adventure!"

Yeah... _no_. Not helping.

Grandfather stopped suddenly in his tracks, and I immediately tensed myself in preparation for... whatever he was getting us into. Luffy being more distracted with the surroundings managed to walk another two steps before he was yanked back to Grandfather's side.

"Alright." Grandfather said gruffly, surveying the trees around us with a critical eye. "This should be far enough."

Luffy immediately frowned. "But there's nothing out here!"

 _Think again, Luffy._

I gripped Grandfather's pant leg and eyed the lush foliage before us. Was it me or was it really quiet in here? Weren't jungles supposed to be full of noises like birds screeching and animals roaring and insects buzzing around? Wasn't silence a bad thing? They usually were, right? Even in Movies 101 silence was the first clue you got that indicated that there was something out to get you. Not good. Not good not good.

"Luffy." Grandfather said gravely, letting go of my hand to pick my brother up. "This marks the start of your training."

Luffy blinked. "Huh?"

"If you don't come back in time for dinner, just scavenge for something to eat, there are lots of stuff to eat in the jungle." He continued, "But stay away from the berries if you can, and don't touch colourful mushrooms. Or frogs. Or anything that has bright spots on it. And uh... Ahh, you can figure out the rest yourself."

Wait.

 _Wait._ Was he-?

"If you don't wanna get eaten, you better be prepared to run."

Grandfather paused for a moment to let the advice sink in. Time seemed to come to a stand-still as the two merely _stared_ each other... And then he promptly just... sort of... well, _punted_ Luffy into the foliage.

"GYAAAAAAAAAaaahh-"

My eyes went _wide_. I think my brain short-circuited for a moment there. Today was so _not_ a good day _._ "Luffy! W-What do you think you're doing, Grandpa?! How could you- What were you- Aargh!"

"Calm down, Mana." Grandfather, treating the situation with the seriousness it deserved, laughed heartily - _laughed_! Was he _insane?!-_ , dusting off his hands, looking nonchalant like he hadn't just sent his grandson to certain death. "It's his training."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to pull out my hair and throw every single strand of it at his face. "Training?! What training? _How is this training?!_ "

"Ah," Grandfather sobered slightly. He looked at me straight in the eye, and said, very seriously, "Survival training."

"This isn't survival training!" I shrieked, "He's gonna _die_!"

"Maybe so," The older man agreed easily, "But if he comes out alive then he'll only be that much stronger."

' _If'._ He said _'if'._ I couldn't believe this. This was crazy. "You are crazy." I told him. "I'm going after Luffy."

I turned around to start and walk away, but was pulled back by my collar before I even got the chance to take a step.

"Not so fast. You're taking a _different_ kind of training."

My body locked up like a frightened animal. Grandfather lifted me up, hand still gripping on my shirt, and _grinned_. I saw my life flash before my eyes.

"Your brother is going to be a marine, just like your grandfather." He said, "Since you're four now I guessed it was time to start your training."

Four? We were four? I blinked dubiously, jogging my memory to try and remember anything that had to do with our birthdays. Baa-chan never actually celebrated our birthdays; it was kind of sad, when I put it that way, but I had never really saw the big deal about birthdays, even before I was... well, _born._ And I was pretty sure Luffy didn't care much about them either.

' _Tomorrow is the 5_ _th_ _of May, right?'_

Oh. _Oh._ So that was what he meant yesterday. _Today is our birthday_ , I thought in dawning amazement, which was immediately replaced with irritation. So... what? Was this some sort of messed up birthday present? A coming-of-age ritual which consisted of _throwing us into a jungle and potentially having us killed_?

Wonderful.

"You're a marine?" I asked instead, pointedly ignoring the second half of his statement because if I didn't I was five hundred percent sure I would start screaming again.

"That's right!" Grandfather said, pride evident in his voice. "Do you know what marines are?"

I nodded slowly. Marines in this world shouldn't be that different from my world right? "They're sea police?"

The older man laughed. "Half right, but we have jurisdictions on land too. Police work only for the country they are serving, so their area of influence doesn't extend to the seas. Marines, on the other hand, work directly under the World Government. We uphold Justice throughout the world, land _and_ sea."

"What's the World Government?" I asked.

"Long story short they are the rulers of the world, led by a bunch of old prunes. But those are politics. I don't care about boring stuff like that."

 _But politics were politics._ I bit my lip. The whole _world_ was governed by a single entity? In that case... a totalitarianism? Was that really such a great idea? I couldn't be sure, but if I wasn't imagining it, I thought I saw something flash in grandfather's eyes when he waved off the question.

"Your brother has to grow up to be a strong marine," he continued, the grin spreading across his face again. "That's why he needs this training."

"But," I protested. Now that the topic had strayed back to Luffy the worry I felt was returning full force. Even if it was 'training' this was taking it too far! This was only the first session; a simple hike _with adult supervision_ would have sufficed. Abandoning his grandchild in the forest was uncalled for. Honestly! What kind of grandparent does that? What kind of _human_ does that? "Aren't you even worried about him?"

"Of course I am! But he'll be fine. He's my grandson after all!"

I just stared at him. Either he had absolute, blind faith in Luffy, or he was... okay, _naïve_. Or mad. Probably all three.

"I'm going after Luffy." I said firmly.

"Oh, no you don't." Grandfather laughed evilly. "I heard from Erina-chan; you two are always together, aren't you? That won't do."

"Why not?" I almost scowled, just barely refraining the urge to stomp my foot but unable to stop the dark glare from forming on my face. I probably looked like a spoilt brat. Damn child body.

"You two can't stick together forever! You're four starting today. You need to start learning to be independent."

"But I can take care of myself!" I replied hotly.

Grandfather nodded slowly, keeping eye contact with me. "I know," He said. "But your brother can't."

I paused. That was... Luffy was four! He just _turned_ four. Me? I had an entire lifetime of experience behind me. I knew how to take care of myself, but Luffy didn't have to yet. He was a _child_.

"That's why he needs this training." Grandfather continued, "Do you understand, Mana?"

 _Four year olds don't_ need _'survival training',_ I wanted to snap, but held my tongue. I did understand. In an extreme sort of way I could get where Grandfather was coming from. But it did not mean that I liked it, at all. Okay, so maybe I had a little tendency to coddle Luffy, but it was always little things.

' _It's those 'little things' that will spoil him',_ a small voice whispered in my mind. I waved it away in irritation.

"Yessir." I said finally, sighing.

Grandfather grinned at my response, all teeth. "Don't sound so disappointed, Mana. You have training too."

"Oh," I said, starting to get a little worried. A part of me really, _really_ didn't want to ask -not after seeing the way he 'initiated' Luffy's training earlier-, but the other part was -oh, God forbid- slightly interested at the idea. Better to just get it done and over with. Maybe then he would let me go and find Luffy.

I took a deep breath and braced myself. "What kind of training?"

"Fighting."

...

What. Really?

The marine knelt down so he was eye level with me, and gripped my shoulders firmly. "Listen carefully, Mana. Before I teach you anything there is one very important thing you need to know."

My back straightened instinctively at how serious he sounded. Right. Fighting. He was probably going to give me the speech about 'using my skills for good'. Never attack with the intent of harming. Only self-defence, et cetera et cetera. I held his gaze and nodded.

"All right. Listen carefully, Mana." He said again, pausing dramatically for effect, "All men are wolves."

"I un-" I blinked, and stopped myself short. That... did not go in the direction I expected it to. "What?"

Grandfather shook me. "All men are wolves, Mana. Do you understand?"

"I-I..." I was so confused. I was so. Confused. What? 'All men were wolves'? What was- He was- Was he really giving me this speech? _This_ speech? Right now? I was four! This spiralled out of my expectations completely. I was- I _really_ didn't get this old man.

My mouth opened, then closed. I tried again. "Yessir."

Grandfather nodded in satisfaction, and I could almost see him ticking off a checklist in his mind. Step 1, complete. Moving on to Step 2.

"Good." He said. "Now, there will be times when those wolves try to uh... assault you. So, you need to be able to fight in order to protect yourself."

Okay. This was getting ridiculous. My grandfather, giving me, his granddaughter, the Talk about incoming perverts, at the age of four. Golden. I didn't know if I should feel amused or mortified.

"...Yessir."

The man beamed. "Good, good! Now we can get started."

Wait, that's it? No 'use your strength for good'? No 'no abusing your skills' speech? Nothing?

"Aren't you," I started hesitantly, "Aren't you going to lecture me about- about using what I've learnt only as self-defence... or something?"

Grandfather stared at me for a solid five seconds before bursting out in laughter. I shrunk back from him at the unexpected reaction. Okay, what was it this time?

He grinned widely and ruffled my hair. "Oh, _no_ no no. I'm teaching you how to fight, so you can _fight._ Anyone even looks at you funny and you go over there and beat 'em up. You hear me? No grandchild of mine is going to get bullied."

A grandfather who not only condones violence, but actively encourages it. To his granddaughter, no less. Nice.

"But," He continued, a hint of warning in his tone. "I don't have to tell you not to pick fights with innocents right? You're smarter than that."

A smile made its way to my lips, easy and effortlessly. "Yessir."

"Atta girl. Now, let's begin."

* * *

I regret. _Everything._

 _If I ever agree to something like this again, please just do everyone a favour and kill me instead._

I couldn't even twitch a muscle. My entire body was covered in cuts and bruises and I _ached so badly_.

A whole day of running in the jungle screaming bloody murder and trying to flee from that insane devil's incarnate of a grandfather as he chased you over mountains and across rivers and _through trees_ tended to do that to you.

I lost count of the collateral damage after twenty-five fallen trees, and I was pretty sure there was around half the amount of destroyed boulders thrown in there too.

What started out as a simple ( _hah!_ ) training session quickly escalated -more like sky rocketed- when that crazy old man started raining blows on me with seemingly no intentions on holding back. Trying to overcome the instinctual reflex of flinching and closing my eyes at the punches was hard enough, and even when I finally got about to dodging, my efforts proved futile when he simply increased his speed and continued the onslaught.

So I did what any _normal_ human being would do. I ran for my life.

 _Literally._

And of course, when someone runs away from you your first reaction should be to question, 'Why is she running? Is it because of me? Am I being too hard on her?', but _Grandfather_ wasn't _normal_. Oh _noooo._ He was in a whole other league, planets and galaxies away from _normal_ human logic. _His_ reaction was to sprout flames from his feet and go on a mad chase after me, literally demolishing everything in his path.

He even yelled for me to stop. And so I ran faster.

Right now, lying flat on the floor at home after the merciful, _merciful_ end (Grandfather suddenly remembered he had a wall to fix), I could only muse that if there was anything I learnt in that training (see: torture) session, it was that Grandfather was scarier than any 'wolf' I would ever meet in my life. And that he was irrefutably, utterly, stark raving _mad_.

* * *

"I'm so hungry." Were Luffy's first words the moment he pushed open the door.

"Welcome back," I muttered out of habit more than anything else, though with how pathetically soft I sounded I highly doubted that he heard me.

Grandfather however, was much more energetic.

"Oh, Luffy!" The crazy old man laughed. "You made it out of the jungle! So how was it? Do you feel stronger?"

I didn't even have the energy to scowl at him anymore. I was just relieved that Luffy was _alive_.

"GEH-!" Luffy jerked, "Grandpa! You're still here?"

"What's that supposed to mean you little brat? Of course I am!"

"Jungle? What's this I hear about a jungle?" Baa-chan asked from the kitchen, the aroma of dinner drifting along with her voice.

"I brought the twins there, of course."

"You brought the- WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU BROUGHT THE TWINS THERE?!"

"Bwahahaha! Relax, Erina-chan! No wonder Mana worries so much, you're rubbing off her."

"This is a perfectly good matter to be worried about! You told me they would be safe!"

Ironically, if I had to make a choice between the jungle and Grandfather right now, I would take the jungle. Just throw it at me.

"Aw, don't sweat the little details. More importantly, is dinner ready yet?"

"Don't change the sub-"

"I'm hungry." Luffy whined again.

"I'll get back to you in a minute, Lu- Oh my god look at you you look even worse than your sister- GARP GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN _THIS INSTANT_!"

Grandfather shuffled back into the living room with a sheepish grin. "I was just checking the stove-"

" _You_ sit down quietly and wait. No dinner until I finish patching Luffy up. Come here boy, I'll get the first aid kit."

"Let me handle that!" Grandfather protested.

"No! No. You just-" Baa-chan held up a hand, taking deep, calming breaths and closed her eyes. "You just... go and sit in the corner and reflect on what you have done to your grandchildren."

The man opened his mouth to protest even more, but decided against it when Baa-chan levelled him with the evil eye. He stood rooted to his spot for a moment before dragging his feet to the corner and flopping himself down, a childish pout on his face.

" _Grounded."_ I sang quietly, resisting the urge to cackle wildly in revenge. Grandfather just got _grounded._ Baa-chan was so awesome. She was officially my new favourite person.

"Is dinner ready yet?" Luffy asked again as Baa-chan started fussing over his injuries. There weren't any gaping wounds or missing limbs from what I could spy on his body, though his arms and legs were littered with scratches and what seemed to be bug bites. His hair looked like a bird tried to make a nest out of it, but his wide eyes shined bright as ever. In fact, he didn't really seem to be very affected by the ordeal. That was good. It wouldn't even be funny as a joke if Luffy ended up traumatised by his grandfather at the age of four. The fact that they had only known each other for little more than a day would only make it worse.

Baa-chan smoothed a band-aid over his cheek. "Just a minute. Go wait in the bath first. I'll be right there."

"Okay." Luffy said. "Where's Mana?"

" _Here._ " I muttered lifelessly. _"'m dead."_

Luffy's eyes widened and he whipped his head around, obviously trying to find the source of my voice. " _Mana? Where are yo_ BUAAH-"

"OW! Hey- _Getoffgetoffgetoff-"_

Elbows and knees dug into my body. I whimpered in pain. "M-Mana?"

" _-getoffgetoffgetoffgetoff- please-!"_

The boy clambered off me, sporting a sheepish grin. "Whoops, sorry! What are you doing?"

I gave him a blank stare, wallowing in self-despair at how many times I had to come close to death in a single day. I was bundled up in a thick, woollen blanket, with only my head sticking out. I felt (and probably looked) like some sort of deformed slug-human hybrid. I was literally right under his nose, and Luffy had just tripped over me.

Baa-chan interrupted before I had the chance to respond.

"Luffy, bath. Now. Mana, please get up from the floor. You've moped around enough already. GARP! Go _back_ to your corner!"

Puh- _lease._ I had moped enough? I think I deserved to sulk a little bit more with what I suffered through today, didn't I? Oh, woe is me.

Luffy peeled the blanket off me and squinted. "Are you okay?"

I made pterodactyl noises at him.

Luffy paused for a moment, patted my head sympathetically, and ran to the bathroom.

Grandfather peeked out from his corner, checked left and right for any movement, and quietly sneaked back into the kitchen when the sound of running water started in the bathroom.

I stared after him, already anticipating the amount of trouble he would be in when Baa-chan notices the food missing from the table, and curled back in my comfy cocoon and went to sleep.

* * *

"You're leaving?" Luffy and I chorused, "Why?"

Baa-chan sighed and placed a hand on our shoulders. "The agreement between your grandfather and I was that I took care of you until you turned four; and now you're four." She paused, a pensive look on her face. "I almost thought he forgot about it, with how he never visited until now."

Luffy frowned, looking terribly disheartened. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my island, in North Blue."

"That sounds far..."

"It is."

The silence stretched on uncomfortably. I looked between the two; neither seemed quite sure of what to say. Seems like I wasn't the only socially awkward one around here.

"How will you get there?" I asked, trying to move things along.

"Your grandfather is giving me a lift." Baa-chan replied easily, gesturing to the large marine ship docked by the harbour behind us.

She was leaving with grandfather? "Today?" I asked hurriedly.

"Yes, today." A pause. "After he finishes fixing the wall."

My eyes widened incredulously. If Baa-chan was leaving today _(all of a sudden?!)_ then what was I supposed to do? We were just children; surely grandfather didn't seriously think that the single 'survival training' session he threw Luffy at yesterday helped in 'survival' right?

...Actually, if I went with what I had seen of his logic -or lack thereof-, there was a very high possibility that it was _exactly_ what he thought. That would explain why he was so extreme even though it was the very first time.

My thoughts must have shown on my face, as Baa-chan started to chuckle. "Don't worry, Mana. Garp might not take into account matters like these, but I already asked Makino to look after you two for the time being. You like her, right?"

The tension seeped out from my shoulders as I nodded. That was one problem solved.

Actually... if it really was Makino-nee who was going to take care of us, that was _a lot_ of problems solved.

Makino-nee dropped by several times to visit us at home. She was a very sweet girl; young, but very mature for her age. Not to mention she ran the main (and only) bar in town. Luffy _loved_ when she visited, because she always brought little snacks and gifts to pamper us when she did. Baa-chan told her many times that she was spoiling us, but I think she turned a blind-eye most of the time.

Luffy brightened up slightly at the mention of Makino-nee, and turned back to Baa-chan with a pout. " _But why'd ya gotta leave?_ " He whined.

The older woman quirked an eyebrow. She spent enough time with us to be able to pick up on our random sentences in English, which was sadder in hindsight, because that only hit home how long we had been together. "Because I'm too old to be chasing after you all the time. I'll leave that to the youngsters."

Luffy jutted his lower lip out.

Baa-chan sighed again and ruffled his hair. The sombre atmosphere returned again. I bit my lip. I really didn't want our farewell to be an unhappy one. Baa-chan was strict and rough around the edges, undoubtedly, but she had been taking care of us for _four years_ now. She fed us, taught us, bathed us, talked to us... She was the single constant in our lives outside each other. Saying that I loved her might have been a bit of a stretch, but how could I have _not_ grown attached to her after all this time?

"Will you be coming to East Blue again?" I asked.

"If I do, then I'll come visit." She promised loosely, "But I'm getting old."

 _Oh._ The world suddenly felt very large and cold. The underlying meaning of her words didn't hit me like a wall of bricks, but carefully unravelled and spread like a slow poison.

The topic of _death_ never came up in our lives; understandable, we were children after all. That would also explain why Baa-chan never said anything about all this until now, the last moments (I _hate_ phrasing it that way) we have together, so she could avoid answering any grim and upsetting questions about said topic.

The years had been kind to her. Yes, she had wrinkles. Yes, the small, brown spots that coloured her skin had increased in amount over the years. But underneath all that, one could easily tell that many, many years ago, she held the face of beauty. Sharp, angular features, high cheekbones, it wouldn't be a stretch to say she had 'aristocratic' features once, in her youth.

But now, at her age, she was going back to her home island. Maybe she wanted to see her family again, to spend the last phase of her life with her precious people. Or maybe she didn't have one; maybe that was why she agreed to take care of us, because she did not have any grandchildren of her own. Come to think about it, Baa-chan never mentioned anything about family before, both hers and ours. I briefly wondered what her relationship with Grandfather was. Since he trusted her enough to leave us in her care, they must have known each other for awhile right?

Luffy's thought process though, contrary to mine, was much simpler.

"How old are you?" He asked bluntly.

Baa-chan whacked him sharply over his head. "It's bad mannered to ask a lady her age, boy. But to answer your question, I'm older than Garp, at least. Met him when he was a brat. He's still a brat." She added as an afterthought.

Luffy cradled his head with a whine while I fought the urge to gape at the woman.

 _She... she just called Grandfather a brat._ Granted, she _did_ ground him just yesterday, but still...

I tried to imagine Grandfather as a _brat_... and promptly shut out the image.

 _Nope. Not going there._

"Erina-san! Luffy! Mana!" A voice suddenly called from the distance.

Luffy and I perked up at the familiar voice, turning to the side.

"Makino!" Luffy cheered happily, waving his hands in the air.

The young woman waved back with a bright grin, jogging over to us. She braced her palms on her knees, panting slightly as she stopped in front of us. Sweat beaded lightly across her forehead and she wiped them away with her sleeve.

"Sorry I'm late! The delivery got delayed and I had to run inventory-"

Baa-chan waved a dismissive hand. "You're not late, child. Catch your breath."

I walked over to the young woman. "Good morning, Makino-nee." I greeted.

Makino returned the greeting with a warm smile. "Good morning to you too, Mana. Hello, Luffy."

"Makino! Is it true you're gonna take care of us now?" Luffy asked excitedly.

Makino giggled before nodding. "Yes, Luffy. At least, until Garp-san finds a formal replacement. I hope you don't mind."

Luffy looked like the opposite of 'minding'. "Sure!"

I smiled at her, bowing slightly. "Please take good care of us."

Makino laughed and patted our heads. I ducked my head slightly at the action, feeling like a little cat.

 _Yeah, I really like this girl._

"Speak of the devil." Baa-chan clicked her tongue, looking over where the man of the hour was finally arriving. Grandfather marched up to us with a confident strut, hands shoved into his pockets and his shit-eating grin pasted firmly on his face. How someone managed to look so intimidating wearing a pink floral shirt I will never know.

"Alright, let's set sail already." He announced, getting straight to the point.

"We were waiting for _you_!" Baa-chan yelled incredulously. "What took you so long? The wall was already half fixed yesterday!"

"Ehh, I had some business to attend to at the mountains." Grandfather said dismissively. "But I'm here now, aren't I? Let's go."

Baa-chan pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly deciding not to ask what business exactly, and turned back to us.

"Right." She said instead, and fixed us with a stare, "Behave."

"Yes, Baa-chan." Luffy and I said obediently.

Her tone might have been strict, but there was a smile tugging at her lips, so I would have liked to think that we had grown on her just as much as she had on us.

I hesitated for a moment before moving forward to press a quick kiss on her cheek. "Have a safe trip."

"Thank you, Mana." She said, still smiling. "Take care of your brother. Luffy, don't cause trouble for Makino and your sister."

Luffy grinned winningly. "Okay."

Baa-chan snorted a laugh and ruffled both our heads one last time, and Grandfather... Grandfather just _had_ to ruin the atmosphere.

"Mana, don't your grandpa deserve a kiss too?"

My expression fell flat. Was he seriously asking me this? After what he put us through yesterday? My muscles started to ache again at the mere memory.

But he was staring at me like I had just killed his puppy so...

 _Ugh. He's almost as bad as Luffy._

Withholding a sigh, I reached out in the universal language of children. Grandfather's expression brightened as he understood my gesture. I tried not to wince too hard as my body protested in pain when he picked me up.

I pressed my hands on his face and pecked him on the cheek. "Bye bye, Grandpa."

Grandfather _glowed._ I was suddenly glad that I hadn't given in to the impulse to bite him in revenge for yesterday. No measure of vindictiveness would be worth the pain he could put me through if I had followed through.

"Bye, Grandpa!" Luffy saluted cheekily.

Grandfather considered him for a moment before nodding. "I guess that's acceptable."

"Have a safe trip, Erina-san." Makino wished, "See you again soon, Garp-san."

Grandfather nodded. "I'll be back soon."

I resisted the urge to blanch as he set me back down on the ground. No. Please don't.

Luffy and I stepped back and watched as Grandfather and Baa-chan walked up the gangplank to the ship.

"Alright, men! We're off to North Blue first before returning to HQ." The Marine barked.

"Yessir!"

Baa-chan caught our eyes and waved at us, and we waved back until the ship disappeared over the horizon. I duly noted how anticlimactic the farewell was. Given how dramatic Grandfather had proved to be I almost expected to see the ship turn around and him coming back to boot us into the jungle 'just because' before setting sail again. But the ship continued straight forward without stopping, getting small and smaller until it was just a speck on the distance. It wasn't until a few minutes after it disappeared completely did I accept the fact that they really left.

Preferably for another three years, if I had it my way.

Honestly. That whirlwind of chaos just entered our lives one day out of absolutely _nowhere_ , put us through hell and back, and then simply left as if nothing happened.

I sighed.

Luffy must have been thinking the same. "Grandpa is weird."

My thoughts exactly. Only in not so many words.

Makino giggled lightly and placed a hand each on our shoulders. "Come along, I'll show you around Partys Bar. You've never been there before, right?"

Luffy brightened up immediately. "Okay!"

I clasped my hands together on my thighs and gave a light bow. "We are in your care, Makino-nee."

.

* * *

 **AN :** Ahh... there's the Garp we all know and love. Nothing screams family bonding more than an impromptu spartan training session in the woods eh? Emphasis on the word 'scream' of course.

See you in the next chapter!


End file.
